The two main reasons I joined this forum were to learn how to use computers in my teaching more effectively and to be part of a larger teaching community which is willing to share resources and ideas through the internet. I have already found the Language List for A Lang Spec B an essential resource for that sort of thing, and I can't praise it enough. A general English site like this seems a dream!

So to start the ball rolling, I am about to teach Catcher in the Rye as an exam. text for the first time to a GCSE class. It is a Set 2 so I have high expectations. Has anyone out there any resources or ideas that they might be willing to share?

I believe what goes around comes around and will offer whatever I have to anyone who might need it as a matter of course.


Christine

ChristineS

You said



Is this an email listserv that you are referring to? If so, any ideas about similar lists for other subjects, specifically chemistry? I have already posed the same question in the science section of this forum.

Sorry, I only know of this one for A Lang.

Christine writes:


I have already indicated in another part of this Forum that setting up a resource bank and sharing resources via the Internet is fraught with problems concerning copyright. If you post a resource on a website or disseminate it by other electronic means you must ensure that it is an original work and does not contain copyright material. For example, if you wish to disseminate a PowerPoint resource that contains images and texts lifted from other sources you must make sure that you have sought permission from their copyright owners – and it makes no difference whether you charge for your resource of offer it for free. Above all, don’t assume that just because something is on the Web you can do what you like with it. All resources on the Web are subject to copyright unless it is explicitly stated otherwise. I manage an MFL-related website that contains a selection of resources donated by teachers: http://www.ict4lt.org. I ask all teachers sending resources to me to endorse a form containing the following statement:

"Guarantee of originality: The Author warrants that the Work is an original composition and that it in no way infringes any existing copyright either in whole or in part and that it contains no material which may be considered libellous or defamatory. The Author shall indemnify the Publisher against all actions, proceedings, claims and demands made against the Publisher by reason of anything contained within the Work constituting an infringement of copyright or being libellous or defamatory and against all costs, damages or expenses in respect of such action, proceeding, claim or demand."

See the guidelines that I drew up at:
http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_copyright.htm
These relate mainly to MFL, but there are links to other sites, including sites that offer advice on specific educational issues and concessions, e.g. the BECTA ICT Advice site, which contains several documents on copyright that explain clearly what you are allowed and not allowed to do.

Hi, Adrian - for chemistry David Bateman, of Kingsbury School in London, and Nick Falk, of Sackville College in Sussex, have been using mailing lists to support teaching and learning.

The best place to start looking would, I think, be Nick's site at:

www.science-active.co.uk

You can also e-mail Nick at mrfalk@science-active.co.uk.

Christine and I are both veterans of a basic but well-patronized list for English language teachers. It is good for simple communication, and requires little effort from most members. But it does not, as this forum does, allow for anything to have an enduring presence or legacy of resources. So one finds, after a while, that the new members are asking for things that older users have already sent time and again.

We cannot publish things that others own without permission, though we can, as individuals, make use of Fair Use/Fair Dealing provisions in the UK/US law. But we can (which is the point of this forum) share our own original work in which we own the copyright.


I hope this helps.

Fair Dealing in the UK excludes dissemination of copyright material, e.g. publishing it on the Web or making it available via a resource centre. You may be able to plead Fair Dealing if, for example, you use copyright material within the confines of your own classroom on the grounds that the economic impact on the copyright owner may be negligible, but the moment you make multiple copies of a work or pass it around to other schools you are asking for trouble. See:
http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/st.../exceptions.htm
http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/st...air_dealing.htm
Watch out for copyright bounty hunters! I can cite a real case.

Regarding the situation in the US, see Myth No. 2 and Myth No. 4 (Re: Fair Use) at Brad Templeton's website:
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

If the work in question is your own creation then you need to protect it. The BECTA ICT Advice site contains at least one document that tells you how to do this.

Well, Graham, I feel rather as if I have been run over by a truck! But thank you for your warning anyway.

I am sure no-one would wilfully steal anyone else's property so a timely warning about copyright is not amiss, of course, and I shall make sure I remove anything from any resource I post up that I cannot claim is original.

I am aware of protecting my own resources but don't wish to. Others may, of course.

I still think it would be good to share and I for one have plenty of material I 'own' to pass on. The exchange of ideas is not copyrighted, nor advice on where to find free or public resources, so I am still hopeful someone out there may be able to help regarding Catcher in the Rye.

..................................................

A query: does all that you mention apply to images taken from the Internet as well? I am thinking of resources I have made which match images to extracts from poems, for instance.

How does one stand if one takes the option of exchanging a single, electronic copy of an item with an individual other teacher via email or disc/hard copy viasnail mail? Surely that comes under 'fair dealing' as it does not involve a resource centre supplying a school.

Sorry about that! I thought the warning was worth issuing as over the years I have seen many teachers get themselves into hot water over copyright issues.


Unfortunately, it happens all the time!


You automatically own copyright on everything original that you produce.


Yes, it is a good idea, and you can certainly pass on ideas and links to websites.


Copyright on images is jealously guarded by their creators, and they are well protected under copyright law. My daughter is a professional graphic designer and runs her own business. I always seek her advice with regard to images – and the restrictions on using images are both surprising and alarming. If you make an image public you must seek permission from the copyright owner, unless it is stated that it is in the public domain or is declared copyright-free and publishable subject to an acknowledgment of its source. See the Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI) website: http://www.tasi.ac.uk.


You are thereby disseminating a resource without the permission of the copyright owner, and that does not count as Fair Dealing, unless you are making it available to the individual for the purpose of their private study or research. The following BECTA document summarises what you can and cannot do: http://www.ictadvice.org.uk/downloads/guid..._electronic.doc
This document contains the following section:

Fair enough, Graham!

I should perhaps add that most of the recent articles that I have written - mainly on MFL/ICT and ICT training for language teachers - can be accessed via my personal website: http://www.camsoftpartners.co.uk/websites.htm - Click on "G" for "Graham" and you'll find a list of them. I would be flattered if a teacher forwarded any of them to a colleague and I have no objections to multiple printed copies being made for distribution in an educational context, e.g. for training workshops. I would, however, object strongly - and have done on one occasion - if these materials appeared on a public website or Intranet without my permission having been sought. As academic coordinator of the ICT4LT website, I have had a part in the commissioning of original materials that are subject to similar conditions: http://www.ict4lt.org. There are two articles at the ICT4LT website - by Brian McCarthy and Mark Warschauer - that I thought were so useful that I sought the permission of the authors to mirror them at the ICT4LT site. Both authors agreed immediately that this would be OK. It's always worth asking!

Sometimes you may make efforts to contact the creator of a work for permission to reproduce it and fail. In such cases you may decide to risk reproducing the work anyway - and I know some publishing houses are prepared to take such a risk and insert an indication that they will "remove and desist" immediately if there is a legal comeback. Technically, however, this is still an infringement of copyright and you would be advised to take legal advice before taking such a step. There is the case of a person who reproduced Gerard Hoffnung's "The Bricklayer's Lament" without seeking permission. He was forced to remove it - some years ago, I believe. The message indicating that it has been removed is still there:
http://paul.merton.ox.ac.uk/work/bricklayer.html
I understand that Hoffnung's widow keeps a close watch on copyright breaches.

In traditional publishing small extracts from published work is fully acceptable because it is seen as increasing the sales of the original work. The main purpose of copyright law is to protect the income of the author/artist. If you use a quotation from a published book on your website you need to place a link to Amazon where the visitor can buy a copy for themselves. If you do that you will not have any trouble from the original author. There is only one exception to that - J. K. Rowling. She has banned all quotes from her books appearing on the Internet.

Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the author/artist. This has been done to protect the interests of the family of the author/artist. The people I feel sorry for are the families of cartoonists. The work of cartoonists are in great demand on the Internet. Yet, the original cartoonist rarely held the copyright. For example, Punch Magazine kept the copyright of all its artists. They now charge huge sums of money for people to use their cartoons although none of this money goes to the family of the artist.

The following websites have ideas for teaching The Catcher in the Rye.

http://www.midtesol.org/articles/catcher.htm

http://ps044.k12.sd.us/Forms%20of%20Fictio..._in_the_rye.htm

http://www.nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academi...er/catcher.html

http://www.cmi.k12.il.us/Urbana/uhs/englis...ger/catcher.htm

http://www.teachnet-lab.org/MBHS/scragg/ca...tchernovel.html

Thanks a lot. Very useful!